Socket wrench



April 8 9 1924 11,489,696

5'. A. CAMPBELL SOCKET WRENCH Filed March 16, 1922 w 07;- I MM I1,489,696 PATENT OFFIC.

SOLOMON CAMPBELL, OF HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO THE ALLENMANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT, A CORPORATION OFCONNECTICUT.

SOCKET WRENCH.

To all whom it may concern.

Be it known that I, SOLOMON A. CAMP BELL, a citizen ofthe United States,and resident of Hartford, in the county of Hartford 6 and State ofConnecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in SocketWrenches, of which the following is a specification. I

This invention is intended primarily fol 1 use in or as a part of asocket wrench, although it may be used as a universal joint connectionbetween a handle or other operating member and work engaging tools orparts other than wrench sockets.

One object of my invention is to provide means whereby the handle orother operat' ing member can be connected through a universal joint toany tool which otherwise could be connected directly to the handle oroperating member, and at the same time to so form the universal jointthat it may itself serve as a work engaging part.

' As important features of my construction I provide a universal jointincluding two 2 socketvinembers having hexagonal or other non-circularsockets of different sizes, one, for instance the smaller, being adaptedfor detachably receiving a handle or operating member, and the otherbeing adapted to receive and fit a nut, bolt' head, or the like wherebyfor that one size of nut the device serves both as a universal joint andas a wrench socket or other work engaging part. In connection with theuniversal olnt I provide an adapter having the opposite ends of theproper length, size and shape to fit the opposite end sockets of theuniversal joint.

Thus, with the universal jointconnected to the operating member and theadapter connected to the universal joint, the adapter will present aterminal portion which corresponds in shape and size to the terminalportion of the operating member, and will receive any socket or otherwork engaging part which could otherwise'be directly connected to theoperating members In the accompanying drawings I have illustrated oneembodiment of my invention.

In these drawings Fig. 1 is a side elevation of an operating member. j

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section throng my improved universal joint.

Fig. 3 is a side elevation of my improved adapter.

Fig. 4 is a transverse section through the adapter on the line 4-4 ofFig. 3,

Figs. 5 and 6 are longitudinal sections through different sizes ofsockets which may be connected either to the adapter or to the operatingmember.

Fig. 7 is a side elevation of the universal joint mounted for use as awork engaging part, and

Fig. 8 is a side elevation showing the universal joint and adapter foroperating a separate work-engaging part.

The handle or operating member, as shown in Fig. 1, forms no rtion of mypresent invention and may he constructed substantially as illustrated inmy prior Patent 1,371,350, issued March 15, 1921. The constructionillustrated includes a hexagonal bar 10, which may detachably engage ina socket in a head 11, which latter may detachably receive a bar 12forming an operating lever or T handle. The head 11-may include ratchetconnections, as disclosed in my prior patent above referred to, althou hsuch, are not illustrated in detail herein." 0 far as the presentinvention is concerned, any suitable means may be employed for rotatingor oscillating the handle or operating member 10. 1

My improved universal joint includes two socket members 13 and 14, eachprovided with a pair of ears or lugs 15 which receive between them, andare pivotally connected to, an intermediate block 16. The pivot pins 17and 18 which connect the two socket members to the block 16 are inplanes at right angles to each other. As an important featureof theuniversal joint, the two socket members 13 and 14 are provided withsockets 19 and 20, which are of similar form, but of different sizes.One of these sockets, for instance the socket 19, is of such form andsize as to receive and fit the end of the operating member 10. Thelatter may have a ball 21 imbedded therein to serve as a stop, and aseparate ball 22 retained in place, but pressed outwardly by a spring soas to serve as a resilient retainer when this end ortion of theoperating member 10 is inserts in the socket 19. The socket 20 isadapted to serve as a work engaging part, and is intended to receive andfit some specified size of nut or other work part. Preferably it is ofthe proper size so that when the universal joint is connected to thehandle or operating member the device may serve as a fourth: bearingsocket wrench for the Ford car.

In connection with the universal joint I provide an adapter as shown inFigs. 3 and 4. This includes an end ortion 23 of a length, size andshape to t the socket 20, and an end portion 2a which corresponds inshape and size to the terminal portion of the handle member 10. In otherwords, it is adapted to fit the socket 19 of the universal joint. Thisadapter is preferably formed b a piece of bar stock similar to that ofWhlC the handle member 10- is formed, and this may have shrunk, drivenor otherwise secured (in, a jacket part to provide the end portion 23 ofdifl'erent diameter. The two end portions may have separate springpressed balls mounted in radial sockets to serve as resilient retainers.The ball. 25 which is in the larger end may be of a larger diameter thanthe thickness of the wall of the jacket, so as to serve as an additionalmeans for preventing the endwise removal or displacement of the jacket.

By means of my improved universal joint and adapter the end of thehandle 10 may be inserted in the socket 19, and the larger end of theadapter inserted in the socket 20 so that the exposed end of the adapterwill correspond in size and shape to the end of the operating member 10,and will receive any form of socket or other work engaging part whichcould otherwise be directly attached to the end of the operating member10.

In Figs. 5 -and 6 I have shown a pair of wrench sockets 27 and 28 bothof which have apertures 29'at one end, hexagonal in cross section, andadapted to fit either the end of the operatingmember 10 or the end rtion24 of the adapter. The socket mem rs 27 v and 28 at their other endshave sockets 30 reaches the adapter. Thus, by means of my invention, Iprovide a universal joint which may be inserted between the operatingmember and the work engaging part, or may serve itself as a Workengaging part, or when removed permits the direct attachment of theother work engaging parts to the other operating member.

When the joint itself is employed as the work engaging part, it permitsthe insertion of the tool into a comparatively narrow space, which isnot possible where the joint merely forms a connection between thehandle and the Work engaging part.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is:

A socket wrench including a handle bar,

a pair of sockets having universal joint connections, one of saidsockets having an opening at its outer end of a size to fitand'detachably receive the end of said bar, and the other of saidsockets having an opening of larger size, an adapter having one end ofthe .through the universal joint and adapter, the

adapter being of a length to be substantially completely received, onehalf in the last mentioned socket and the other half in the secondmentioned socket of the pair, and the end of the handle bar and both endportions of said adapter having spring pressed means for frictionallyengaging within the sockets to hold the bar, sockets and adapter in thedesired assembl Signed at I'filltfOl'd, in the county of Hartford andState of Connecticut, this 11th day of March A. D. 1922.

SOLOMON A. CAMPBELL.

